Reverse Rapture - Part 3 - The Insider Itch

Reverse Rapture Part 1

Reverse Rapture Part 2 

I am frustrated. So deeply frustrated.

Sixteen years ago I wrote about grief when a pastor I respected turned his back on Christ for Judaism. Today? The grief has hardened into something else entirely.

A Pastor Fell

Back then, the One New Man movement hit Singapore with obviously noble intentions: teaching about Jewish roots of faith. But people got drunk on “insider” knowledge. Suddenly they weren’t learning; they were standing apart, superior to the rest of the Body who didn’t get their special understanding.

It was never about Hebrew songs or shofars. It was about the itch, that hunger for secret knowledge, for feeling closer to God than the ordinary believers around you.

That same itch fuels today’s reverse rapture nonsense. And here’s what makes me want to scream: we have zero excuse for falling for this garbage anymore.

In my university days, working a few hours at McDonald’s could buy you a copy of the Bible in your own language. Go back fifty years and you couldn’t even take that for granted. What believers could only dream of a lifetime ago, we carry in our pockets: endless translations, free of charge, on devices more powerful than supercomputers. Greek and Hebrew interlinears with full search capability. You want to know how “logos” and “rhema” are actually used in the New Testament instead of parroting some preacher’s made-up distinction? Five minutes of research. You can even argue with AI to test your theological ideas against objective logic that doesn’t care about your feelings.

Given all that, people really should not be falling for amateur-hour false prophecy. But they are. Why?

Because the itch isn’t about information. It’s about status. 

And sometimes that drive for status is powered and energized by trauma. I know a sister who got abused by her boyfriend, abandoned by her church, and instead of doing the hard work of healing, she went shopping for a cause that would make her feel important again. The vaccine wars became her altar. Refuse the jab, join the remnant, judge everyone else as compromised.

I get why medical institutions lost credibility. My father ended up in ICU after one dose, and watching the gaslighting that followed was infuriating. But turning health decisions into salvation tests isn’t discernment. It’s lazy theology disguised as spiritual warfare.

The tools are right there. The resources are free. The excuses are running out.

So what do we do? The same things we should have been doing all along, but with less patience for excuses:

1. Use the tools. Stop outsourcing your brain to YouTube prophets. You have access to better biblical resources than any generation in history. Use them. Start by reading your Bible and grow from there.

2. Test everything. Does your “special knowledge” make you more loving or just more judgmental? If it’s the latter, stop and check where you left the straight paths. 1 Corinthians 8:1 is still in the Bible, the last I checked... 

3. Stop coddling spiritual laziness. Yes, care for the wounded, but don’t enable their refusal to think. Compassion doesn’t mean accepting garbage theology.

4. Build churches that actually disciple people. If your congregation can’t tell the difference between Scripture and conspiracy theories, that’s a leadership failure. And for God’s sake, when someone reports abuse, investigate it properly. Don’t be the kind of church that forces God to work around your negligence.

5. Call out the grifters. These false prophets aren’t innocent mistakes. They’re businesses exploiting vulnerable people. Treat them accordingly. That's why i actually wade through this frustration to write all this stuff. 

The pattern I wrote about in 2009 is still here: people wanting to feel superior through “special knowledge.” The difference now is we have no excuse for not recognizing it.

The reverse rapture isn’t a prophetic event. It’s a spiritual tantrum. It’s people floating away on balloons of superiority because doing the actual work of discipleship is harder than joining a club that tells you you’re already special.

If you’re tempted by the insider itch, if you find yourself looking down on other believers because they don’t share your particular obsession, here’s my advice: Get over yourself. Read your Bible. Join a church. Learn to carry your pain without turning it into a weapon against the Body of Christ.

Because the moment you start believing you’re part of some special remnant that’s smarter than everyone else, you’ve already been raptured... right out of the humility that makes faith possible in the first place.

Reverse Rapture - Go Read Your Bible

 Around Mid-July, I got this message via Whatsapp

Just wish to drop you a message as that we are the generation that will see Christ return, and I believe you heard about the great wealth transfer that is about to happen for God’s chosen ones. 

I want to bless you with this opportunity, I am not sure if you know about cryptocurrencies investment and etc.

There are a few God anointed coin eg. XRP, XLM, Shiba Inu and of course Bitcoin. Please read about them all if you are not sure. In singapore you can download the Coinbase app for Apple App Store. From Coinbase app then you can purchase and keep those crypto. 

This great harvest time or wealth transfer is meant to fund the coming great harvest of souls (the final call) before Rapture. 

I will share a few of those YouTube channels that I followed, those prophets sharing about it all. 

Lastly, watch September as there will be a 24 hours event of the Great and Terrible Day, is also called “reverse rapture”, God is going to remove the evil ppls on this earth and few big events would happen (I believe), I meant catastrophic events.

(JJ: Needless to say, the idea of a reverse rapture caught my attention.)

The September event according to Bo Polny is around Rosh Hasnanah 22-24 September. Or more exact on the 24/9.

--

So I replied

We’re definitely in strange times. I do believe God is moving, and I also believe we need to test everything, hold on to what is good, and not be swept by every wind. I’m always cautious with anything that links prophecy to profit. i saw too many people from my church burned over the past decade or so. ☹️

i really appreciate your heart in reaching out, and I pray you continue to walk closely with the Lord. we keep in contact, ok?

(Yes, my capitalisation is erratic. These days I just type my replies on screen as I move around. Sitting at my laptop to type is a luxury)

-- Further messages I received

We are at the reset time for great wealth harvest and great soul harvest time. The 4 July 2025 marked the beginning of the 7 years of blessings (for God’s chosen ones) and the world will be into more chaos at the same time before the 7 years of tribulation (2032-2033?).

There is this one day (24 hours) event that will take place this Summer (I think around 22-24 September Rosh Hashanah), this event (worldwide 911 as if), our Creator is about to remove those evil  ones from this world, it is called “reverse rapture - not for us but the evil ones.

I kept mentioning the September event, because this will be felt by everyone on earth on that day, people will know that is God’s move. 

We will be busy and must equip ourselves to be readily answering anyone that approaches us 💪

-- 

It's the beginning of August right now, so I'm going to go on the record and say I don't believe there will be a reverse rapture. Simply put, something as big as that is not going to be omitted from the Scriptures, or hidden under ambiguity behind passages we already know to mean something else. So I take my stand now, publicly, here. 

And if it does happen on 24 Sept, it actually doesn't change my main point, which I will get to in a moment. First let me put here in this blog core details of the claims about the reverse rapture. If you like, you can skip ahead to my TLDR

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A MESSAGE FROM GOD – JULY 25, 2025

So what’s going on?  What’s going on?  You should pay particular attention to the markets at this time.  The wealth transfer is starting, and the markets are going to move well.  Watch them and see.

Israel is going to announce a new energy source.  Wait and see.

So what time is it on the clock?  WE are seconds out from the Great and Terrible Day.  There will be signs as WE approach, but it will come suddenly as a thief in the night and there will be no stopping The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord.  The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord will start with a shock and it will continue for a 24-hour period.  24 hours to the second.

Man cannot stop the Great and Terrible Day.  I AM bringing the Great and Terrible Day to cleanse MY Earth of all of the evil ones.  They are not of ME.  They will never choose ME and will shake their fist in defiance as they go to their eternal damnation.  All of you know these evil ones.  Some are famous and some not so famous and some everyday people among you.

The evil ones are not the lost that will be found.  The lost are the wayward Christians and those that have not made a choice yet about MY Precious Beautiful Son Jesus.  The lost will be found and many will come home to ME and MY Son on that fateful day.  The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord.

The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord will start like any other day.  But MY Angel of Death will be moving throughout MY Whole Earth.  Millions will be gone and MY Son’s Scriptures of the wheat and the tares being separated will be fulfilled.  It will be in an instant.  Some will witness.  One will be gone – two in the bed and then one will be gone.  Two in the field and then one will be gone.  Gone.  Gone.  Vanished. 

People will search and search and they will be never to be found.  I call this MY Reverse Rapture.  MY Reverse Rapture is reversed because it is not the Rapture of the Church of MY Dear Son.  That is for later.  Not quite yet.  WE will get to that but before WE do, I must rid the world of the evil ones who have polluted MY Beautiful People with all of their evil.

So fear not the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord.  For MY Saints and MY Lost Wandering Children, the Great and Terrible Day will be a great day!  A day to celebrate and remember.  As the evil is extinguished from MY Earth, MY Glory will begin to pour in.  The evil cannot stand MY Glory.  They will be running and hiding and then they will be gone.

This will be a one day 24-hour event that will be global.  All on the planet will experience MY Great and Terrible Day.  MY Saints and Lost will live through it, and many will see the evil vanquish.  It will be captured on video and the media will begin to show it as it is happening in real time across the globe.  For some, a pocketful, repentance will come from them right before they could have been snatched away.  Fear will overtake many, but you, MY Dear Children are to fear not.  Fear not this Great Day and fear not this Terrible Day.

Fear not MY Church, MY Saints, MY Believers.  The Great and Terrible Day will usher in the greatest harvest of souls into MY Dear Son’s Kingdom.  MY Son Jesus, the King of all Kings and the Lord of all Lords.  He paid the price with His Life for each of you to have life more abundantly, to the full and your cup overflowing.

This Great Day will bring prodigals home, set addicts free, free the lost and set many of MY Little Ones that have survived free from their demonic, evil captors.  Some will need homes, and many will make their way back to their home and family who waits and hopes for them.

This Great Day will bring the lost to flood MY Churches, MY Online Ministries and to you, MY Saints.  They will call you because they know you are MINE, and they always have known who to call if they need ME.

So be ready MY Saints as the harvest is ready and the workers are few and it is time to bring in the Great Harvest of Souls.  Be ready MY Saints to walk in love when lost loved ones call and show up scared and afraid, needing help and guidance to meet MY Son.  Forgive quickly their wrongs and hold no grudge.  Be like MY Son and have HIS Compassion in your heart.

Be ready to love and to show them the way to MY Dear Son and to HIS Cross.  There is always room at the table, and WE love OUR Lost.  We love the downcast, the homeless, the addicts, the alternative lifestyles and those in sin.

WE love one and all and WE welcome them all.  Help them and meet them where they are.  Take the calls, answer the phone, go pick them up and show them OUR Love.  Ask US to direct you and give you the Words.  MY Holy Spirit can give you and speak through you.  Just walk in love and they will want who you have – MY Jesus, MY Son – the Love of your Life!

The Great and Terrible Day will change everything in MY World.  Governments, politics, media, movies, your family, your life, and your finances.

MY World will never be the same as I AM changing everything in one single day.  I only need one day as I AM the Great I AM.  There is no one like ME and there never will be.

I only need one day.  Just take a look at MY Book.  MY Love Book.  The Greatest Book ever written.  MY Precious Holy Spirit gave it to you through men who were obedient and faithful and gave their time and wrote it down.  They are honored these Saints and you can meet them in heaven.  But that will be later as now it is time for MY Glory from heaven.

The defeat to the enemy will be a mortal blow.  It will take time for him to regroup but regroup he shall.  Fear not the evil one, the forever loser.  He will not defeat ME.  MY Glory shall come and shall fill MY Earth.

MY Glory will fill homes and churches and stores.  MY Glory will fill MY Saints like never before.  MY Glory shall change sinners into Saints.  Men will be falling on their knees and crying out to ME when they stand up, they will be all brand new.  Washed and cleaned in MY Son’s Blood.  Clean and spot-free.

So rejoice MY Saints as this is good news.  We are seconds away from the Great Fateful Day.  Rejoice you have been told as I do nothing without telling MY Anointed, the Prophets.  MY Prophets rose up as I anointed them to tell you, to warn you and for you to look up.

So rejoice and sing and remember to pray.  Thank ME each day and soon you will see MY Great Move in all of history.

The mountains will sing and the valleys will bloom.  MY Glory is coming.  MY Lost will be found.  The evil will be gone and you are MY In Crowd.

I love you always,

Adonai

--

Another message, supposed to be a letter on the 27 July 2025 

So what about the Russia Gate?  How does everything tie together?  Soon you will know, and the arrests will be on.

You thought last week was exciting.  Wait and see this week.  You better get a big bucket of popcorn and some extra butter.  Things are just cranking up and it is going to be very exciting.  So buckle up buttercup.

For those of you still carrying around your rapture rug, go put it in the closet for a bit.  Yes, MY Son Jesus is coming!  He is coming for you!  His Beautiful Bride, but ME and MY Son do not want any to be left behind, as it is not quite time yet.  Oh yes, there will be people left in the tribulation who will receive MY Son after the rapture.  They will know the truth will set them free.  MY Bible is clear that there will be martyrs and a few that make it to the end of the tribulation period.  WE will help them and them to the end.

But right now is not Rapture Time.  Many of you thought HE was already coming and made some preparations for unsaved, loved ones.  WE love your hope, your expectation and your excitement.  You will be highly blessed and rewarded for all from the big to the small for writing rapture letters, stockpiling Bibles and praying for the lost.

Many of the lost will very soon receive MY Son Jesus, My Beautiful Son Jesus, on Reverse Rapture Day.  The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord. So hold tight MY Loves.  You will see the lost be found and you are going to be amazed.

You will be amazed and in awe and wonder.  Amazed at what I do, how I do it, and when and that it is a one day.  A 24-hour event.  There will be no day in history like MY Reverse Rapture.  It will happen once.  Just one day – you can count on ME.  I guarantee it.

The world will soon know that I AM the Great I AM and there is no one like ME.  MY Earth cannot tolerate the sin of evil men and women and the trouble, chaos and confusion that the Nephilim, the evil ones, have brought to MY Good Earth.  They will be gone, and I will heal and cleanse MY Earth.  When they are gone, do not remember them and do not celebrate them.  There will be no funerals for them as they will not be here for that.  No body – no funeral.  So don’t have any celebrations of Life for the evil that will be removed from MY Good Earth.  Do not!

Your mission, MY Saints, is MY Lost, who have come home to ME and MY Son Jesus.  Your mission as their wandering around in fear and trembling – needing comfort and understanding as to what has happened, the reasons for it and that it will not happen again.

You will not need to stockpile or get a solar generator for MY Great and Terrible Day.  You all have all that you need for that day.  You are to be in prayer and love on the lost.  Love on all and meet them where they are. Don’t try to explain the whole Bible to them on Day 1.  Start with John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish”.  Start right there with I love them, I gave MY Son for them and all they must do is believe.  And teach them of Our Love and Our Love especially for them.  And teach them to love.  Just start there.

The Greatest is Love.  I AM Love and Love never fails and I will never fail them or you.  So you, MY Child, be prepared to walk in love with each one that I send to you to lead and guide to MY Son.

There will be much confusion, chaos, and destruction on this Great and Terrible Day. There will be days of darkness for some in power, intel and the like.  But fear not I will take care of all of you MY Loves and any loss will be simple and easy and quickly restored.

You see, MY Children, all of this must be done to set the stage for the final harvest of souls.  The Reverse Rapture will bring many to US on that day, but for others it may take a few extra moments.  Time.  So you plant the seeds, and you will reap the harvest of souls that I have predestined for you.

MY, In Crowd, you will be great fishers of men. Do not doubt even in your life that you might not think you will make a difference in MY Son’s Kingdom.  Oh yes, I handpicked you to be where you are and I will orchestrate your steps to be a Great Builder of MY Son’s Precious Kingdom.

What I need for you is a willing heart.  It is a choice to be a harvester of souls.  A fisher of men.  Come to ME and ask ME to anoint you fresh to be a Great Harvester in MY End Time Harvest.

But child, always remember that I gave you freewill and harvesting for MY Son is a choice.  I always have backup, and no one will go to hell if you don’t step up.  That is a lie from the evil one from the pit of hell.

I AM a loving Father, and I love My Children so much that I have many plans for each person that will to receive MY Son.  So no guilt here, MY Child, as I want you to know to be a harvester is always a choice.  Choose wisely MY Child as the rewards will be great.

So back to the beginning.  I AM using man to bring justice to the wrongs committed by the evil, corrupt demonic.  And I AM going to finish the job with MY Reverse Rapture.  It is sooner than you think.  Look up, your redemption draws neigh, and you shall see it, live through it and talk about it all the days of your life.

So all of this excitement that Obama, Killary, Comey, Brennan and more will be chargds with crimes against the USA is leading up to the big day.  There are many in their gang who are not of the evil ones and those will be spared MY Wrath on the Great and Terrible Day.  Yes, this will be a demonstration of MY Wrath on the earth and when it is done, you will never see this again and for some of MY Prophets, they will have completed their mission.

Back to the evil gang that have committed treason, some will be gone on the Great and Terrible Day and some will repent.  Some will remain and still not make their choice for ME and MY Son.  But that is MY Business and yours is to shepherd and guide the Lost that I send your way.

MY Glory shall fill MY Earth and the fullness thereof.  You will love MY Glory and experience ME, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in deeper, more intimate ways.  It will be a time in your life when you see all of MY Promises fulfilled in your life.  Your job is to simply believe.  Believe, MY Child, in MY Son.  Believe MY Child that I always have the plan.  Trust and depend on MY Precious Holy Spirit and WE will direct and order your steps all the days of your life.  Just simply believe.

A word of wisdom for you as you ponder the Great Day.  Do not complicate MY Son or HIS Gospel.  I AM the Great I AM, and I created all and know all and could easily make MY Kingdom harder than any math formula.  But I did not, because I love you.  I have made all in MY Kingdome simple and easy.  So simple even little children receive MY Son, and they just believe.  So keep everything simple for the new believers.  Teach them of Jesus and OUR Love and then you go from there.

Many have lost their Kingdom Harvest by making it too hard and difficult to meet MY Dear Son.

So enough today.  This very hot sunny day.  MY Girl’s hand is getting tired, and it is almost time for her church.  Rest some and pray to ME some.  Love always and rejoice.  The new dawn is upon you, and you will rejoice.

I love you today, tomorrow and forever.

Adonai

--

TLDR - Those messages make the following specific, verifiable claims

1. The “Great and Terrible Day of the Lord” will occur in a single, global 24-hour window

• Quote: “It will come suddenly as a thief in the night… The Great and Terrible Day… will continue for a 24-hour period. 24 hours to the second.”

• Verifiable: A global event with exact timing can be checked via news, global records, and timing.

2. Millions will vanish from the Earth in that 24-hour period

• Quote: “Millions will be gone… It will be in an instant… One will be gone – two in the bed and then one will be gone.”

• Verifiable: Such mass disappearances would be immediately reported worldwide.

3. This is called a “Reverse Rapture” - different from the Church Rapture

• Quote: “I call this MY Reverse Rapture… it is not the Rapture of the Church of MY Dear Son. That is for later.”

• Verifiable Distinction: This positions it as a new prophetic claim, not traditional rapture theology.

4. The event will be captured on video and aired globally in real time

• Quote: “It will be captured on video and the media will begin to show it as it is happening in real time across the globe.”

• Verifiable: If real, this would dominate global media. It will be verifiable by footage, headlines, and broadcasts.

5. Israel will announce a new energy source

• Quote: “Israel is going to announce a new energy source. Wait and see.”

• Verifiable: Israeli government or science news channels would record such an announcement.

6. Markets will shift significantly as part of a wealth transfer

• Quote: “The wealth transfer is starting, and the markets are going to move well. Watch them and see.”

• Verifiable (but Vague): Can be tracked via financial indices, but needs clearer definition of “wealth transfer.”

7. The evil will be visibly and instantly removed

• Quote: “The evil… will be gone… in an instant.”

• Implication: The world will experience immediate and dramatic removal of specific “evil people” (some “famous, some not”).

• Verifiable: If, on that day, notable public figures or “evil ones” vanish en masse, it can be tracked and confirmed.

8. The day will trigger mass repentance and a flood into churches and ministries

• Quote: “This Great Day will bring the lost to flood MY Churches, MY Online Ministries and to you, MY Saints.”

• Verifiable: A mass spiritual revival in 24 hours would be widely documented.

I put all this out here for accountability. If we do not see all 8 of these claims come to pass, we see false prophecy. I expect fully people to start saying "maybe God meant 24 Sept 2026?" Funny how divine, unshakeable timelines always seem to come wiith an annual extension option, yah? 

Ok, enough of the kid gloves. God says exactly what he means. It's false prophets who want to keep fleecing the flock that will make specific time claims first and make excuses later after their prophecies are proven false. 

But there is more to the picture. And that is the important part to me - what makes some people more vulnerable to being taken in by false teachers, false prophets and false prophecies? A lack of serious, rigourous feeding in God's Word over the years. So, I attempted to bypass the distraction (reverse rapture) and go straight to the real issue. 

The following is the message I sent in reply, shared here unedited, because this is the type of clarity we need more often these days. 

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these days i meet an ex church mate regularly to plan curriculum for his tuition centre. one day he told me he goes to a particular prayer meeting wednesday nights, where he stays for hours for the pastor to pray for him. he spoke of deep encounters with the presence of God, and the inner healing and release he experienced each time.

did i say “that’s great!” or ask for the time and place so i could go too?

nope. i asked, “tell me, what is your time in the Bible like these days?”

“hear me out, jj…” and he proceeded to talk about praying in tongues on bus trips, listening to sermon audios and all that. he knew very well what was missing, deficient, very badly neglected in his life, and took quite a while to admit it. all i did was ask the question and give him time to face up to the answer.

now that i know your heart for God is rising and awakening, and you see movement and transition in the spirit realm, my question to you is even weightier.

How is your time in the Word of God, the plain undiluted Scripture, without any other voices, just you and the Bible directly?

because when the clock is ticking and the heat is turning up, your thriving and growth requires that you be feeding yourself the Word of God daily. and that the voices you listen to do the same.

we think we know what it means to set our hearts and minds on things above, on the heavenlies, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. but do we?

i discovered this test to see if we delight in God’s Word and in God himself: would you ever sit down and read ezekiel 40–48 — the temple measurements, the gates, the chambers, the offerings — not because you fully understand it, or it makes you feel something, but just only because God put it there?

because he cares about it. for me, if some teacher, pastor, ‘prophet’ finds ezekiel 40–48 boring, i won’t trust what they say about the book of revelations, much less the end times transfer.

Do the people you follow and listen to obsess over God that much?

we can’t tell just from whatever they put out online or in text messages. the things of the Spirit are to be spiritually discerned, spiritually received, and spiritually weighed. we can’t do that accurately unless we ourselves obsess over God and immerse ourselves in the Bible seriously. as seriously as we deem the times coming upon us.

so i’m not saying “follow me.” i am not Christ. i don’t even dare say “follow me as i follow Christ.”

i’m saying to you what i remind myself: the unshakable kingdom we hunger for is built upon the unshakable Word of God.

only there can we build an anchor strong enough to withstand the shaking.

only there can we discern, truly discern, who in the Body is anchored deep enough in the Word to speak into our lives.

“the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

if we follow those who are secretly carnal (whether they preach fire or whisper peace) they will lead us astray.

so let’s seek the Lord in truth.

let His Word be our judge.

let it refine our souls.

⸻

so, to round up this message from my heart, i’ll ask you again the question that makes people uncomfortable with me:

How is your time in the Word of God? plain, undiluted Scripture, just you and the Bible, with no other voices in the room?

--

I know, I did an entire blog post for her. Wanna guess her reply? 

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🤦‍♀️ Ezekiel 40 to 48 shows God’s final plan for restoration — not just of a temple, but of His entire relationship with His people, their land, worship, and leadership. 

I see that it is about to happen soon (the relationship has to restore). Before rapture all these has to happen. The book of Song of Songs is the best description of all, emphasizes on thr permanence, passion and power of true love between our Creator and His children.

-- 

1. Notice that she totally evaded my simple and direct question? That tells me the true state of her Bible time loud and clear. 

2. Notice also how Ezekiel 40-48 is reduced to a less-than-AI-generated summary that i would expect from the church elder who inspired my blog posts

https://jvworship.blogspot.com/2010/08/teachers-of-pet-topics.html

and 

https://jvworship.blogspot.com/2011/08/giving-to-poor.html 

Some people think being able to parrot a summation of the key ideas of a passage is the same as feeding on it. It isn't. That's as wise as watching a few driving tutorials on Youtube and thinking you're road-ready. 

Go read your Bible. Really read it. Not for quotes, not for prooftexts, not to circle back to whatever you think you already know. But to let the Word of God train you. People use all kinds of spiritual-looking workarounds (like prayer meetings, online sermons, chasing "prophets") just to avoid the actual work of digging into the Scriptures and proving to the Holy Spirit you WANT His truth. 

Some people think they are so clever when they can reduce or somehow divert Scripture passages or topics back to their favourite pet topics. For example, you explain to them about a passage on the nuances of God's guidance and they twist it into something vague and feel-good, like the love of God. Such twisting may be clever. It may impress those without a love or the knowledge of the Scriptures. But it is fruitless for both the speaker and those who hear. 

That bears repeating: can the Holy Spirit tell from your actions that you actually WANT the lessons of the Scriptures? Or will he find you chasing the 'prophets' and teachers and thinking that puts you on par with the remnant who still work through their way through the Bible book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse?

May the Lord grant mercy to us in these last days. Because some of us are still reading. Still repenting. Still carefully tuning our discernment. And still refusing to be seduced by spiritual shortcuts.

Junjie

Reverse Rapture Part 2

Reverse Rapture Part 3

Matthew 25 Musings

Did I mention that I've been doing inductive Bible study this year? After going through the Bible in a year last year, I realized that I don't know the New Testament as well as I would like. So I got started on a more intense study of the New Testament.

Here's something interesting I found.In Matthew 24 Jesus shared about the signs of the end-times. Matthew 25:1 starts with "At that time...", which tells us that the rest of the chapter is especially relevant to living in the end-times. What happens if we look at the rest of the chapter in that light?

The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matt 25:1-13)

Notice all that the virgins in this parable had in common - they were all waiting for the bridegroom, they all became drowsy and fell asleep and they all had oil for their lamps. The only difference was that the wise ones had enough oil for themselves to last a long time. In other words, they expected that the wait would be long.

Does that tell us that the way to be ready for Jesus' second coming is to expect that it would take a long time? Hmm...

Another interesting thing I noticed is that the wise virgins did not help the foolish ones. Their first priority was to ensure that they had enough for themselves. They took personal responsibility for being ready. They set boundaries for themselves; they chose not to share their oil with the unprepared virgins, and Jesus did NOT chastise them for their 'selfishness'. On the other hand, the foolish ones probably expected that if they did not have enough oil they could always beg some off the wise virgins.

Not smart.

The Parable of the Talents (Matt 25:14-30)

When looking at this parable, many people apply the principles in this lesson to everything else except what it was talking about in the first place - money!

Matt 25:16-18 (NIV) The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.

Here's the interesting part - the master commended the servants who doubled the money entrusted to them (Matt 25:21, 23). The servant who did not lose any of the money (Capital Preservation, they call it) was called wicked and lazy (Matt 25:26). Wonder what would the master have done if there was a servant who lost the money or spent it all away frivolously, thinking it was his own money?

Can you imagine wearing a T-shirt with the logo "Jesus is coming back. Double your money QUICK!"

But that wouldn't be too accurate a logo, would it? We are not to double our money; it's not ours in the first place. Everything in our stewardship came from God in the first place (1 Chr 29:12). Many prosperity teachers promote the idea that we are to prosper in our finances so that we can give money to further the gospel. The problem with that idea? It's not our finances in the first place; it's God's. Meanwhile, other bible teachers react by roundly condemning the idea of financial prosperity for God's people. They ignore the scary part of this parable: We are to double our master's money or be condemned as wicked and lazy.

In other words, are those teachers guilty of spreading wickedness and laziness amongst the servants of Christ? Food for thought...

The Sheep and the Goats (Matt 25:31-46)

If we were to sum up this teaching, it would be that Jesus sees what we do for the least of his brothers as what we have done unto him. Here's the question: who does Jesus see as his brothers?

There are three possible answers:

1) Humanity in general? Possible, since Jesus repeatedly addressed himself as the Son of Man.

2) The Jews? This is likely, since Jesus himself was a Jew, a descendant of David (for example, Luke:18:38)

3) The believers - Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. (Heb 2:11, NIV)

Remember, whatever group we choose to apply this principle to, we need to make sure that we do not exclude the Jewish race. Remember, at that exact moment Jesus gave us this teaching, there was no body of Christ yet, since the Holy Spirit had not yet at that moment baptised us anyone into the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:13).

That means that the most immediate application of this principle ought to be to the Jews. And that Jesus sees how we treat the Jews as a reflection of how we regard him.

In Conclusion:

Maybe we could sum up this chapter as:

1) Be prepared for the long term;

2) Double HIS money; AND

3) Watch how we treat his people.

What do you think? Be blessed!